Wireless networks typically include mobile stations and access points. A mobile station may “associate” with an access point (referred to herein as the “current access point”) to communicate with other devices on the network. Mobile stations may move about while access points are typically stationary. If a mobile station moves around in an area covered by multiple access points, the mobile station may “disassociate” from the current access point and associate with another. The process of disassociation and association may be repeated any number of times, as the mobile station moves about.
In order to decide whether or not to disassociate from the current access point or associate with a different access point, a mobile station may periodically communicate with a variety of access points, including access points other than the current access point. When a mobile station communicates with access points other than the current access point, the data throughput between the mobile station and the current access point may suffer.